Glass
by SlytherinLove30
Summary: Spoilers for Extreme Prejudice. What if the glass went just a little bit deeper? How much would it change the team's recovery from the explosion?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer- I do not own NCIS or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: So after a few days of contemplating the season premiere, I've come to the decision that I wasn't satisfied. I've seen a few of these stories so I'm sure I'm not the only one who has thought so. This is going to explore what would have happened if Tim was more hurt then he actually was. I hope you guys enjoy. Please read and review.**

"Hey, stop."

Tim turned to look at his boss. Gibbs approached him and bent down. Tim looked curiously at the older man as he moved his jacket aside. There was a huge chunk of glass in his stomach.

"Uh oh." He said, not completely understanding the severity of the situation.

"Can I get some help over here?" Gibbs yelled over his shoulder. The relief that he felt when he saw Tim upright and okay just a few minutes earlier was now gone. This could be a very bad situation and McGee was too disconnected to realize it.

A few firemen who had been in what was left of the squad room quickly made their way over to the two agents and immediately got to work. Soon Tim was off in an ambulance to Bethesda.

After seeing the younger man off, Gibbs made his way back to the building, wishing he could have gone with McGee. All of a sudden he saw Abby running towards him.

"Gibbs! Gibbs! Who was that?" the Goth yelled. "I haven't seen any of the team yet. Are they okay? Is it Tony or Ziva?"

Gibbs grabbed her arms. "Tony and Ziva are fine, they're just stuck in the elevator." Before he could finish explaining the situation, she cut him off.

"Elevator?! Who gets in an elevator during an evacuation? They teach you that in like Kindergarten."

"I know, Abbs and believe me we'll be having a talk about that when this is all over but for now they're fine and that's all that matters. McGee on the other hand…" again, he was cut off.

"Tim? Was that him in the ambulance? It can't be. Tim never gets hurt." She said, starting to panic again.

"Yes, it was Tim. Abbs, you have to calm down." He told her.

"Calm down? Calm down? NCIS just got blown up, the man who did it is still out there, and Tim's in the hospital!" she yelled. "What's wrong with him?" she asked, hoping it wasn't anything too serious.

"He was in the squad room when the bomb went off, right by the windows. When I found him, he seemed okay but when he was about to leave to get some fresh air, I noticed a piece of glass from the windows coming out of his side." Gibbs explained.

"How did he not notice that?" Abby questioned, confused. How does somebody not realizing something wrong? Didn't it hurt?

"He was in shock, Abbs." He told her.

"Who's with him?"

"Nobody."

"He's alone! I should go with him." She said.

"He'll be fine, Abby. Probably just needs a few stiches. Right now, we're needed here." He said.

"Are you sure he'll be fine?" Abby asked, still a little worried.

"Positive." Gibbs reassured her. He hoped he wasn't made to be a liar. There was no telling just how deep the piece of glass had actually gone.

~NCIS X~

The paramedics wheeled a gurney into the emergency room of Bethesda Naval Hospital. "We've got another one!" one of them yelled.

Already tired doctors came running towards them and began taking the man's vitals.

"He has a piece of glass embedded to the left side. Patient was in shock initially but began to panicking on the way here so we had to sedate him." A different paramedic told them.

"We need to see how deep the wound is before we attempt to remove it. Get him to x-ray." One of the doctors shouted and they took off down a hallway.

After they were gone, one of the nurses grabbed a paramedic. "Did anybody come with him?" she asked.

The man shook his head. "No, everything's so hectic over there. His boss sent him over with us." He told her.

"Do you have a name?"

"Special Agent Timothy McGee"

"Okay, I'll see if I can find an emergency contact." The nurse said as she made her way over to the nurse's station. She sat down at a computer and searched the name. A file popped up and she quickly scanned it for a phone number. The man had his sister listed as his next of kin but when she called, there was no answer. The nurse sighed and looked back at the file and found another number. There was an answer this time. "Hello my name is Angela Allen; I'm a nurse at Bethesda Naval Hospital. I'm calling concerning Agent McGee…"

~NCIS X~

It was hot, really, really hot. They had been stuck in the elevator for hours and all the wanted was to get out. Tony shifted again and turned his head towards his partner. "Do you think they're okay?" he asked.

Ziva didn't have to ask who 'they' were. She knew he was talking about their team. "I do not know." She said. "I have not wanted to think about it."

"I'm sure Gibbs is okay. Nothing stops Gibbs. And if Gibbs is okay, that means that Abby is because he'd never let anything happen to her." Tony reasoned.

"And what about McGee?" Ziva questioned.

Tony sighed, "I don't know. Where was he the last time you saw him?"

"The bullpen, I think." She answered. "He was at his computer."

"I'm sure he had plenty of time to get out."

"Yes, I am as well."

The silence returned. Both contemplated the rest of their team. Even with their reassurance to each other, they were still worried. Suddenly, the James Bond theme song started to play. Tony scrambled up to pull out his phone, which he hadn't realized had regained a signal, while Ziva rolled her eyes at his choice in ringtone.

"Hello." Tony answered, not even bothering to check the caller ID.

"Hello, my name is Angela Allen; I'm a nurse at Bethesda Naval Hospital. I'm calling concerning Agent McGee. Is this Agent DiNozzo?"

"Yes, this is Agent DiNozzo. What's wrong with McGee?" he asked, panic in his voice.

Ziva watched as Tony paced the small space with worry clear on his face. When he hung up, she jumped up. "What's wrong? Is McGee okay?"

Tony shrugged. "I don't know. They just called me because he was at the hospital alone. The nurse I talked to doesn't know what his condition is yet." He informed her.

"Are you his emergency contact?" she asked.

"His second. They only call me if they can't get a hold of Sarah. He asked me a few years ago." He explained. Tony picked up the phone again and tried to call Gibbs but it went right to voicemail. Tony cursed and dialed again, this time to Abby. It rang for a while but still nobody answered. Anger and worry mounted within him. Finally he tried his last hope. Thankfully, this one answered.

"Vance."

"Director, its DiNozzo." He replied.

"Agent DiNozzo, are you and Agent David okay?" Vance asked.

"Physically yes, but we might go crazy if we don't get out of here soon." Tony told him.

"We're working on it." The director assured.

"Thanks. Is Gibbs around?"

"Yes, hold on." The phone was passed on. "Tony?"

"Hey, Boss, you guys okay?" Tony asked.

"Me and Abby are fine. What about you two?"

"We're fine, but Tim's not." He said.

"How'd you know?" Gibbs questioned.

"I just got a call from Bethesda." Tony explained.

"How is he?" the other agent asked.

"They don't know yet." Tony said with a sigh.

"He'll be okay DiNozzo." Gibbs assured.

"I hope so, Boss. I really do."

**TBC…**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer- I do not own NCIS or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note: I want to start this chapter of with a big fat THANK YOU! I never expected all the positive responses. I hope you guys continue to react positively to this story. So without further notice, Chapter 2….**

Gibbs paced the length of Vance's office as he talked with him, Jarvis and Fornell. "How's McGee?" Vance asked after they had decided that Fornell would take charge of the hunt for Dearing.

"I don't know." Gibbs answered truthfully, as he scrubbed his face in frustration. "I called the hospital but the woman who answered couldn't tell me anything and then hung up before I could ask anything else. They sounded pretty busy over there." He explained.

"I'll make some calls." Jarvis assured him.

"Thank you, sir." Gibbs said sincerely.

"Don't thank me, Gibbs. McGee's a good agent. Besides, I have a video conference with his father in a half an hour. I'd like to be able to tell the Admiral that his son is alright." Jarvis told him before picking up his cell phone and dialing.

A few minutes later, the SecNav hung up the phone and looked at Gibbs. "He's in surgery. The glass went further then they originally thought. It was curved and punctured his stomach." He informed them.

Gibbs sucked in a large breath. It was worse than he thought. Fornell could see the struggle on his friend's face and spoke up, "Go, Gibbs. Take Abby, David and DiNutso with you. My people have got it covered. I'll call you if anything happens."

"Thanks, Tobias." Gibbs said before all but running out of the office and out of the building to find the rest of his team.

When the three agents and the forensic scientist got to Bethesda, it was only slightly less chaotic then it had been earlier that day. Now, instead of the injured clogging up the waiting room, it was anxious family members looking to see if their loved ones were okay. Some had smiles on their faces as doctors told them good news while some others broke down in tears at bad news.

Gibbs walked straight up to the front desk. "I'm here to see Special Agent Timothy McGee." He told the nurse who was sitting there.

The nurse looked up from the chart she was reading. "Are you family?" she asked.

"No, I'm his boss." He answered.

"Then I'm sorry, I can't tell you anything unless you're family." She explained.

Gibbs was just about to lay into the woman but Tony grabbed his shoulder and stopped him. "My name is Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo. I'm listed as one of Agent McGee's emergency contacts." He told her.

The nurse picked up one of the charts and opened it. "Okay, I'll go get one of his doctors to talk to you."

The four watched as she walked away. "One? Does that mean he has more than one doctor?" Abby asked nervously.

"I guess we'll see, Abbs." Gibbs said, grabbing her and pulling her into a hug.

Ziva was the first to see the doctor approaching them. The man gave them a small smile. "Hello Tony, Agent Gibbs, Ms. Scuito and you must be Ziva." He greeted the group.

Ziva looked but the rest of the group recognized the doctor.

"Brad!" Tony greeted the man. "What are you doing here? You're not Tim's doctor, are you?"

"Actually, I am." He said.

"But you're a respiratory doctor. Tim had glass in his stomach." Abby pointed out.

Brad sighed. "Why don't you all follow me? We can go somewhere a little more quite." He said and led them down a hallway, towards the ICU.

"What's going on here, Doc?" Gibbs asked after he realized just which way they were headed.

Brad stopped at a door and turned to face them. "When Agent McGee was brought in here, he was immediately checked to see where the glass went. It had punctured the stomach and there was some internal bleeding so he was brought to surgery right away. They were in such a rush he wasn't checked for any other injuries." Dr. Pitt began.

"There were other injuries? I didn't see any." Gibbs said; mad at himself for not realizing.

"It wasn't something you could pick up on." Brad assured him. "Agent McGee had breathed in a lot of smoke and ash. The added anesthesia weakened his lungs further and he stopped breathing and crashed on the table." He explained.

They all gasped and their eyes widened in horror. "Were you able to save him?" Abby asked.

"We were but he's currently unable to breathe on his own." He said.

"Can we see him?" asked Tony.

"You can but visiting hours end at eight." He said. Before anybody could protest, he spoke again. "I've already told the nurses that one of you is going to stay here over night, but only night."

They all smiled their thanks. As the younger three entered the room, Gibbs stopped Brad. "Is he going to be okay?" he asked.

"Right now, it's about a fifty: fifty shot. His blood pressure is dangerously low right now and it might affect his stomachs healing process. And even if he's okay, he will more than likely suffer lung problems for the rest of his life." He explained.

"What kind of problems?" Gibbs questioned.

"Nothing that will effect being able to work in the field, but he'll need to have an inhaler on him at all times and he'll have to have regular check-ups."

"Like Tony?"

"Pretty much, which reminds me." He poked his head through the door. "Tony, I want to check you out."

"I'm fine, Brad." Tony insisted from his spot by McGee's bed.

"It wasn't a question, DiNozzo." Gibbs added.

Tony sighed. "Yes, Boss." He said before following his doctor out of the room.

"I'm gonna go get some coffee." Gibbs said and followed the others out of the room.

When they left, Ziva turned to Abby. "What did I miss?" she asked.

Abby looked at her confused. Then it hit her. "Oh, that's Dr. Pitt. He was Tony's doctor when he had the plague. Tony still has check-ups with him every six months. He's a great doctor, Tim's in great hands. "Abby told her.

Ziva just nodded her understanding and took a seat in the chair to Tim's left. She grabbed his hand and squeezed his hand. Abby did the same on his right.

Soon Gibbs was back. "I just got a call from Palmer." Gibbs began. "He's getting Navy transport here and should arrive in two hours."

"How's Ducky?" Abby asked.

"He's resting now but should make a full recovery as long as he doesn't have any more stress. Breena's going to stay with him until he's strong enough to fly home." He explained.

"So I guess that means he's not does not know anything about McGee yet?" Ziva asked.

"No." Gibbs said.

The room fell into silence except the beeping of the machines that were currently the only thing keeping their friend alive. Ducky and Tim were both in the hospital, they just couldn't get over that fact. Dearing was still out there but right now, this was where they needed to be. Tomorrow was a new day.

A phone vibration filled the silence. Gibbs quickly pulled it out. "Gibbs." He answered.

"Gibbs, its Secretary Jarvis. I just got off the phone with Admiral McGee. I think we need to talk."

**TBC…**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer- I do not own NCIS or its characters.**

**Author's Note- I still can't believe the response to this story. I wasn't expecting it at all. I hope you guys continue to love it. Thanks for your support. Also, I hope you guys don't mind that I'm leaving out the whole hooker/FBI agent thing. I honestly hated that part.**

"Alright, you're all set." Brad said when he was done checking Tony's lungs. "Everything looks good but just in case, no strenuous activities for a week or so."

"Don't worry, Doc. I've no plans to do anything but stay here with my team." Tony assured.

Brad nodded. "You seem to have gotten closer over the years." He pointed out.

"You mean the team?" Tony questioned as he hopped off of the exam table and began to button up his shirt.

"Yes, but you and Agent McGee in particular." He explained.

Tony thought about it. "How'd you figure?"

"Well, I remember when you had the plague, he was very reluctant to go and see you. He'd come to the hospital and then leave without going into the room. When I finally confronted him about it, he told me he didn't think that you would want him to visit because it was his fault you got sick in the first place." He explained.

"I knew he blamed himself but I didn't know about that. In all honesty, it wasn't his fault. He thinks he gave me the envelope but I know that it was more like I ripped it out of his hand. I never blamed him and if the situation presented itself again, I'd do the same thing." He told the older doctor.

"I figured as much. Over the last few years, I've noticed that the stories you've told me about the team, you two seem to be very close." Brad said.

"We got pretty close when Kate died, and closer when Gibbs retired for a little while and even closer still when Ziva had left the team." He admitted.

"It seems to me that you two have come to depend on each, on more things than just to have each other's back in the field." Brad surmised.

Tony sighed and nodded. "He's my best friend and the closest thing I have to a brother." He admitted. "I don't know what I'd do without him."

"We'll do everything in our power to help him, Tony but there are something's that I just can't do. It's up to you and your team to give him the support and the strength he is going to need to get through this." Brad told him.

"Don't worry, Brad. We've got that covered." Tony assured and then walked out of the room and back to the ICU.

When he arrived back at Tim's room, he did not expect the angry look on Gibbs' face as he hung up his cell phone. "Dearing?" Tony asked.

"No, there's no news on him yet." Gibbs told him, as well as Abby and Ziva.

"Then what's wrong?" the Senior Field Agent questioned.

"SecNav just had a talk with Admiral McGee. After briefing him on the situation, Jarvis told him about Tim's condition." He began.

"Is he on his way?" Abby asked.

"No, Abbs. He's not." He said.

"Well why not? Doesn't he care that his son is fighting for his life?" Abby questioned infuriated.

"I don't know. All I know is that he told Jarvis that Tim got himself into this mess and he needs to learn how to get himself out." Gibbs said, relaying what the SecNav had told him.

"Is he serious!?" Tony yelled. "He can't even breathe on his own!"

"Calm down, Tony. Yelling won't solve anything." Gibbs said.

"It's not right." Tony growled. He turned away from the others and went to Tim's side. He leaned close and whispered in the man's so that none of the others could hear. "You don't need him, Probie. You've got us and we're not going anywhere."

~NCIS X~

It was decided that Gibbs would be the one to stay with Tim that night. Fornell had stopped by to update Gibbs but there wasn't much to report. He had also called his Jack who reamed his son out for not calling sooner. He calmed though when his son had told him about Tim, his anger being replaced with worry.

Now Gibbs was sitting alone in dark, silence and contemplated the situation he found himself in. A part of him wanted to be out there, hunting Dearing, but another, bigger part of him needed to be there. He needed to protect this man until he could protect himself again.

Then, for what seemed the hundredth time that day, his phone rang. "Gibbs." He answered wearily, the events of the day beginning to take their toll.

"Agent Gibbs, I'm so glad I finally tracked you down." The voice answered.

Gibbs recognized the voice. "Penny?"

"Yes, I'm sorry to bother you but I heard about what happened at NCIS and I couldn't reach Timothy. Is he okay?" she asked with worry in her voice.

Gibbs sighed. "No, he's not." He said bluntly. "I'm actually sitting in his hospital room right now."

Penny let out a gasp. "What happened to him?" she asked.

Gibbs launched into the story of what had happened, including what her son had told the SecNav.

"I cannot believe him." Penny said angrily. "I was under the assumption that they had made amends."

"Well apparently not." Gibbs said.

"I'm sorry you had to be stuck in our family's problems." Penny apologized.

"Don't apologize. Tim's family and his problems are our problems." He told her.

"Thank you." She said, once again shown that Timothy had a great support system. "I'll try to get there as soon as possible. In the meantime, I'll see if I can track down Sarah."

"Okay, I'll see if I can get you Navy transport." Gibbs told her before they made their goodbyes and hung up.

~NCIS X~

It was early the next morning when Tony was startled awake by the sound of his phone. "Hello." He said wearily.

"DiNozzo, I just got a call from Vance. They think they've found Dearing." Gibbs said without greeting. Tony automatically jumped out of bed and started pulling on close.

"What do you want me to do?" he asked.

"Go to the hospital and stay with McGee." He ordered.

"But Boss…" he began to protest.

"No buts, Tony. I need you over there and more importantly, Tim needs you there." Gibbs said with a very fatherly tone that he only pulled out when absolutely needed.

"Yes Boss, on my way." He said and Gibbs hung up. It wasn't that he didn't want to sit with Tim; he just really wished he could be there when Harper Dearing was brought down.

A half an hour later, Tony walked through the doors at Bethesda and began walking towards Tim's room. Right before he reached the room, he ran into one of the nurse's from the night before. "Good morning Agent DiNozzo, I wasn't expecting to see you." She greeted.

"I'm taking over for my boss." He told her.

"Oh, I just thought that since Agent McGee's father was visiting…" the nurse began to explain but Tony cut her off.

"His father?" he said more to himself then to her. That didn't make sense considering what Gibbs had told them the day before. Maybe the man had had a sudden change of heart. It still didn't feel fight to him though.

"Yeah, he arrived about ten minutes ago." She explained.

"Thanks." Tony said before continuing down the hallway. Just before he reached the door, he placed his hand over his weapon. When he walked in the room and saw the back of a man wearing an Admiral's dress uniform. "Admiral McGee?" Tony asked.

The man slowly turned around. Even though he had never met Tim's father before, he knew that the man standing in front of him was not Admiral McGee. "Hello Agent DiNozzo, it's good to finally meet you in person."

**TBC…**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer- I do not own NCIS or any of its characters.**

**Author's Note- Sorry for the wait but things have been really hectic recently. Thank you for all the reviews, follow, and favorites. I'm so glad you guys like this. I hope you continue to like it!**

Gibbs plopped down in one of the seats in front of the giant screen in MTAC and gave a sigh of relief. It was finally over, or at least it appeared that way. "As soon as the scene is cooled down, my people will send the body to Palmer." He vaguely heard Fornell say and grunted in response.

Ziva was the only one who seemed to notice her boss' slightly shocked state and sat down next to him in an empty chair. "This is good, yes?" She asked.

Gibbs nodded and grunted again.

Ziva sighed. "You think he got off to easy?"

The older agent turned to look at the Israeli. "Yeah Ziver, I do." He admitted.

"Maybe he did but I for one am just happy he is dead. Now we can focus on helping McGee get better." She told him.

Gibbs nodded his agreement. "I should call Tony and tell him what's happened." He said, grabbing his phone and dialing the number. The phone rang for a minute and then went to voicemail. "He's not answering."

"He probably has it on silent in the hospital. It is a rule there, is it not?" Ziva said.

"Yeah but he knows better then to be unreadable." Gibbs said, getting up and walking towards the door.

Ziva got up and followed close behind him. "He's fine, Gibbs. Dearing's dead." She said.

Gibbs stopped at the top of the stairs that lead down to the bullpen and turned back towards her. "Until Abby confirms it, I'm not convinced he is."

"You think he has tricked us?" She asked

"He's done it before, what's to say he won't again?" He reasoned.

"Okay, then lets say he is still alive. You think that he'd go after Tony?" She questioned.

"No." Gibbs said. Ziva opened her mouth to answer but he cut her off. "I think that he'll go after our weak spot. Right now that's Tim. Whoever happens to be there with him will just be collateral damage.

~NCIS X~

Penny Langston settled into her plane seat and pulled out her phone. As she waited for an answer, she studied the private jet. Apparently, being the wife and mother of two decorated Navy Admirals, as well as the grandmother of a NCIS agent who was injured in the previous day's bomb blast, made her top priority to get to DC.

"Admiral McGee." The call was gruffly answered.

"Hello, Robert. It's your mother." She greeted.

"I can't talk right now, mother. I'm extremely busy." He said.

"Too busy to see your own son?" She questioned him before he could hang up on her, something he had been known to do to her in the past.

"Yes." He said, without hesitation or emotion in his voice.

"I can not believe you. He is your son."

"It may have escaped your notice, mother but for the past few months the United States Navy has been under attack and it is my job to make sure it does not happen again." He told her with anger in his voice. Why couldn't she understand how bad this was?

"I am fully aware of the situation, Robert. In fact, it is the reason Timothy is in a hospital, unable to breathe on his own." Penny informed her son through gritted teeth.

"Well maybe if those 'agents' at NCIS were halfway competent, they would have caught this man after the first attack and none of this would be necessary." The Admiral argued.

"That is unfair, Robert. You know perfectly well that those people have been trying their best to track this monster down. Especially Timothy's team." Se argued back.

"Well their best was not good enough." He said.

"What is good enough for you?" Penny asked, remembering Tim telling her last year that he felt as though he was never good enough for his father.

"I do not have time for this, mother. Goodbye." He said and hung up.

Penny slammed the phone down on the seat next to her. How was she going to fix this?

~ NCIS X ~

Tony drew his gun and aimed it at the man in front of him's head. "I wouldn't do that if I were you Agent DiNozzo." The man said warningly.

"And why is that, Dearing?" Tony asked with mock caring.

"Because if you do, not even these machines will keep poor Agent McGee here alive." Dearing threatened.

"Is that a threat?" Tony asked, his grip tightening around his gun.

Dearing laughed. "A very real threat. But before I tell you, I should make introductions." As soon as he said it, Tony heard a click of a safety of a gun being taken off behind him. "That Agent DiNozzo, is Maxwell Quinn. He and Evan were best friends growing up. Max is going to help me finish this. Now, I'll say it again. Put down your weapon."

"And if I don't?" Tony asked and the gun behind him was pressed against his skull.

"Then Max will but a bullet in your brain and then proceed to do the same thing to poor, helpless Agent McGee." Harper explained. Tony hesitated for a second and then slowly put his guns safety back on and placed it on the ground in front of him. "Kick it over." The man ordered. Tony, again, hesitated but then relented and kicked it over. "Good boy. Now why don't you go and sit over there by the bed." He said pointing to the chair that Gibbs had occupied only a few hours before.

Tony walked over and sat down. "What do you want now?" Tony growled. "Haven't you done enough yet?"

Dearing ignored his question. "Did you know that I had the privilege a few years back to meet Admiral McGee?"

"No." Tony said, wondering why they had never came across that link when they were looking into the mans background.

"I did. Do you know that what he told me?" Dearing questioned but he didn't let Tony answer. " he told me that I should be proud of my son for serving his country in the Navy. And I was proud, Agent DiNozzo. We got to talking and I asked him if he had a son in the Navy as well. He told me that he did have a son but he wasn't in the Navy. Can you imagine that? The son of a Navy Admiral and not in the Navy himself. Such a disappointment."

Tony growled. "Don't you dare say that."

Again Tony went ignored. "That's why when I heard about Agent McGee's injury yesterday, I decided I'd pay a little visit." He explained. "You see I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone, literally and figuratively. By coming here not only am I teaching Gibbs that he can't win but I'm also teaching Little Timmy here that he made a big mistake, disappointing his father."

"What are you doing?" Tony asked.

"As we speak, the drugs that are keeping him in a medical induced coma and out of pain, are no longer being given to him. Over the next few hours he'll wake up in excruciating pain." Harper said with a smirk and Tony's stomach dropped. He looked over at Tim's still pain free face. This was not good.

**TBC...**


End file.
